Submitted by willynillyslide t3_10ekqjh in vermont
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>It’s clear the Eastern United States has the space, and the right type of space, for cougars to exist comfortably — if we allow it. Our growing understanding of the cats and the benefits they provide to ecosystems, other wildlife and people should inform that decision.
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>Wary of humans, cougars feed mainly on deer and smaller prey. The risk of a cougar attack — on people or domestic animals — is extremely low, and almost zero with pragmatic precautions. Fewer than two dozen people have been killed by cougars in North America in the past 100 years. (Males range in size from 120 to 180 pounds, depending on where they live; females are much smaller, ranging from 70 to 110 pounds.) Scientists estimate a recolonization of the Eastern United States by cougars could reduce deer-vehicle collisions by 22 percent over 30 years, averting 21,400 human injuries, 155 human fatalities and over $2 billion in costs. The return of cougars to South Dakota in the 1990s, for example, reduced costs of deer-vehicle collisions by an estimated $1.1 million annually.
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>Coexisting with cougars will require education around perceived versus actual threats, what benefits the cats bring and how to be around them safely. This is especially important for people living on the front lines of a cougar comeback, like rural ranchers and small-livestock owners.
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>Eastern states must adopt policies that protect cougar habitats and address broader implications of living alongside these cats so that ones like those spotted in Illinois and Minnesota have somewhere to land. In part, this means state wildlife plans with protections that list the species as endangered, threatened or of greatest conservation need until their numbers are sufficient to reduce these protections.
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>Addressing the legitimate concerns of communities sharing habitat with cougars will help to ensure the successful, long-term existence of the species in the Eastern United States.
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>It took nearly 20 years for cougars to expand eastward across just 100 miles of human-dominated landscape between the Black Hills of South Dakota and the Pine Ridge area of Nebraska. Without actively reintroducing cougars in the East, it could take decades for the cats to do it themselves.
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>We could wait for the cats to make their way east or we could choose to support the cougars’ return by re-establishing them there, a prospect I never thought would be possible during my formative years as a scientist tramping through New England forests. Our research, however, points to areas in the Northeast that would support self-sustaining populations. These places are characterized by lower livestock densities than other areas we identified and are complemented by local people who view wildlife as more than a resource to be exploited.
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